WASHINGTON — It is what Rep. Cory Gardner is not saying in the Solyndra loan scandal from his perch on the House Energy and Commerce Committee that is interesting.

Unlike other Republicans on the committee, Gardner — carefully parsing his words — has not lumped the failed California solar company that took a $528 million federal loan with successful Colorado companies that also have taken federal loans.

In interviews, Gardner, a freshman lawmaker from Yuma, has called the White House's handling of the Solyndra mess "disgusting," yet has stopped short of calling for Energy Secretary Steven Chu's resignation.

And while Gardner assiduously affirms his support for solar as a great alternative, he also calls the loan program that has helped dozens of solar companies problematic, nontransparent and in need of change.

"I didn't come here to make myself comfortable," said Gardner, after being asked whether he is veering from his Republican colleagues. "I'm very concerned that we have a solar company that is hurting the rest of the industry."

Last week, Gardner voted the party line to subpoena documents from the White House regarding Solyndra — a move Democrats say was unnecessary because the White House indicated cooperation in handing over e-mails and letters to a House oversight subcommittee.

Advertisement

Since the company went bankrupt and let go of more than 1,000 employees, White House and Energy officials have doled out more than 80,000 pages of documents surrounding the deal.

"I think it's a very heavy step to take. . . . It's a very serious action that I don't take lightly," Gardner said. "I understand the Democrats think this is embarrassing to them, but we have a responsibility to find out why half a billion dollars is gone."

It's not an easy scandal for a Colorado Republican to navigate. Colorado now has more per-capita jobs in solar energy than any other state.

There are more than 6,000 jobs scattered at dozens of companies all over the state, up from 5,000 a year ago. And General Electric announced last month that it will open a $300 million solar plant in Aurora that will initially employ more than 300 people making upward of $50,000 a year.

"We have a lot of leadership here, and I think the Colorado delegation gets it," said TJ Deora, director of the Governor's Energy Office.

Even in Gardner's right-leaning 4th Congressional District, there is Abound Solar, which received $400 million from the same program that should have benefitted Solyndra.

Abound's senior vice president, Julian Hawkins, said Solyndra has become a "football for politicians," and that could have drawbacks for the industry.

"Solyndra's business was completely different from ours, so it is impossible to compare the two," Hawkins said in a statement. "We're optimistic that we'll stay well-positioned within the landscape."

Rep. Diana DeGette of Denver, a ranking Democrat on the House oversight subcommittee, called the Republicans' decision to subpoena documents a "sad day" for the committee.

She urged Republicans, including Gardner, to cooperate with the White House instead of issuing a subpoena, which could take months and unearth tens of thousands of pages of information irrelevant to the investigation.

"Cory and I agree that we need to keep the solar industry strong for Colorado," DeGette said. "We need to completely get all the facts, to figure out what happened to Solyndra . . . rather than politicizing this and pointing fingers."

Missy Franklin, Jenny Simpson, Adeline Gray and three other Colorado women could be big players at the 2016 Rio OlympicsWhen people ask Missy Franklin for her thoughts about the Summer Olympics that will begin a year from Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, she hangs a warning label on her answer.